Nationalism and Indigenousness in Select Commonwealth Writings and Films: A Postcolonial Rereading

Nationalism and Indigenousness in Select Commonwealth Writings and Films: A Postcolonial Rereading―the first publication the new book-series Studies in Commonwealth Writings―collects 24 essays written by scholars, critics, and writers from all over the world, which, in the postcolonial perspective, analyze select literary writings and films from the so-called ‘Commonwealth countries’ (especially those belonging to Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Caribbeans) to explore how the concerned writers and filmmakers have depicted issues of nationalism and indigeneity.
Though there are controversies regarding the acceptability and relevance of the term ‘Commonwealth’, the present literary and cultural world is – identifiably – being dominated by publications and works of these ‘Commonwealth’ litterateurs and filmmakers. Ranging from analyses of Canadian writings to Indian films and novels, and from Australian writings to African publications and cinema, this anthology of critical writings―to be used by academicians and researchers alike from the disciplines of literature and film studies―seeks to fill in the (perceptible) lacuna that still exists in the field of critical approaches to Commonwealth literature, films, and culture.

The volume’s contributors are:

• Bhaduri, Irona
• Bhagira, Tanmoy
• Chakraborty, Rituparna
• Dutta, Rishav, and Neha Arora
• Farahmandfar, Masoud
• Ghosh, Debottama
• Guttman, Anna
• Jahan, Israt
• Karmakar, Tushar Kanti
• Kavitha, T.S., and Mahesh Sharma
• Khan, Bodhisattwa
• Khan, Khatija B.B.
• Mark, Tekena Gasper, and Taiwo Afolabi
• Modak, Poulomi
• Mukherjee, Ananya
• Mukherjee, Ananya
• Raj, Sony Jalarajan, and Adith K., Suresh
• Ray, Sumit
• Roy, Kaushik
• Roy, Satyajit
• Saikia, Meghali
• Swarnakar Neha
• Wayal, Amar, And Anupama A.P.
• Yadav, Ram Bhawan

Dr Pinaki Roy (a resident of Balurghat, Dakshin Dinajpur, West Bengal, India) studied English Literature at Visva-Bharati (Santiniketan, West Bengal, India) and the University of North Bengal (Raja Rammohunpur, Darjeeling, West Bengal). Since 2019, he is professor of English at the Raiganj University in Raiganj (Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal). Previously, between 2008 and 2016, ROY worked as Assistant Professor at Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University (Cooch Behar, West Bengal) and Malda College (Malda, West Bengal). Roy, the founding editor of the book-series Studies in Commonwealth Writings (SCW) (ibidem Press), is the present Chairman of Academic Committee of The Vidyasagar Academy–Kolkata (Govt. of West Bengal). His previous books include WORDS FROM INDIA IN THE WEST (ibidem, 2023), THE BROKEN PENS (Aaadi, 2015), WILFRED OWEN: THE MAN, THE SOLDIER, THE POET (Books Way, 2013), HEMINGWAY’S ‘A FAREWELL TO ARMS’: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL (Books Way, 2012), THE SCARLET CRITIQUE (Sarup, 2010), and THE MANICHEAN INVESTIGATORS (Sarup, 2008). His papers have been published by, among other outlets, CLUES, WLA (JOURNAL OF THE US AIR FORCE ACADEMY), MUSE INDIA, VISVA-BHARATI QUARTERLY, ENGLISH FORUM (GAUHATI UNIVERSITY), ANYALEKH, and (PASCHIM BANGA) NATYA AKADEMI PATRIKA.

Neha Swarnakar, M.Phil, teaches English at Sripat Singh College (Jiaganj, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India), and researches at the Department of English, Raiganj University. She has completed her B.A. and M.A from Kalyani University. She has several articles, including those on diasporic writings, to her credit. Her area of interest encompasses resistance literature, new gender studies, and war-literature.

Neha Arora, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of English of the Central University of Rajasthan (in the district of Ajmer, Rajasthan). Her areas of interest include diasporic writings, Dalit-literature, comparative literature, Indian writings, and subaltern-studies. She has authored Dalit Literature Today (Creative Books, 2015), and has edited/co-edited three critical-anthologies – on New Literature, Mahesh Dattani’s plays, and marginalised literature. She has also contributed several research papers in reputed journals and edited volumes.